TV Series > The Vampire Diaries - Season: 3 > Episode: 12

TV Episode Details:

Wow! A lot has happened during this episode. Bonnie got to finally see her mom, Stephan still cares, Klaus gets a gift, Dr. Fell is out for blood, and Bill is back to torture Tyler. Then after everything was done it ends with the return of another important character from the past.

The nightmare that Bonnie had at the beginning of the episode is really overused, but still highly effective. I'm not sure if it is claustrophobia, or taphophobia that gets to me, and so many other viewers, that makes getting trapped in a coffin so effective that they can get away with using it so frequently on TV. At least there wasn't a skeleton in there with her as it would have been even worse.

Thanks to that nightmare, Bonnie learnt that it was time to find her mother, and we all know what that means... Road trip! So, she finally got to meet her mother and vent all her abandonment anger on her. What does she get for all of that? Drugged and dragged away to be tossed into the hands of a hybrid. This would have been a great twist, if they didn't show the hybrid show up before Elena and Bonnie did. Normally this series is better than that, so it is odd that they went this route.

Klaus gets his family back thanks to Bonnie's trap, minus the unopened coffin. The target on Damon's heart just got much brighter thanks to him admitting her took it. Sure it will save him for now, but for how long? I am sure the trick with Elijah's knife isn't going to help either. I'm glad to see so many familiar faces returning, especially after the loss of a few important ones lately.

Stephan apparently hasn't gone completely to the darkside after all. I am starting to wonder if his uncaring attitude has been just an act to keep Elena safe. First, he is upset about her knowing about the coffins, then again when he finds out that she is trying to keep him away from Bonnie and her mom, but most importantly when he found out about Damon and Elena's kiss. The awkward silence was a strong giveaway, but punching Damon in the face really solidified it.

Alaric has gotten closer to his new friend Dr. Fell, who is starting to play a bigger role lately. After Damon broke the news of the Medical Examiner's death, they typically thought that it was her who did it. I am guessing this rules out Alaric from killing him, or he is just a really good liar. When she attacked Damon, after he confronted her with the death, I really thought that she killed her ex, but apparently she was just after his blood. Even that still seemed suspicious, but after we found out what she used it for, it made a lot more sense. I still have a feeling that their relationship isn't going to last long since there are still so many red flags surrounding her.

Caroline's dad, Bill, is back again, and it sound like he will be staying a bit longer this time. Tyler is really sorry about the bite last episode and decided to get Bill's help to break his bond to Klaus. Since Bill also wants to make it up to Caroline, they start another brutal conditioning, one that almost cost Bill his life. If it wasn't for Dr. Fell stealing Damon's blood, he probably wouldn't have survived to continue Tyler's torture. I am surprised that Tyler was naive enough to think that the one shift was going to be enough since nothing that they do is ever that easy.

It seems that everyone has become hardened lately due to everything that they have been through, except for Damon, who appears to get less evil as the episodes progressed. I have come to realize that he isn't being less of a dick, but just everyone else is becoming more of one. If their characters continue to progress at this rate, everyone will be just like Damon by the end of the season. Hopefully they will hold them back a bit as I'm not sure how enjoyable this series will be without a good, kind heart leading the way.

This episode wasn't without it's flaws, but it was still great nonetheless. It will be interesting to see how Elijah's return is going to affect the story as well as Bonnie's mother lending a hand to deal with the sealed coffin. Unfortunately, it is two weeks till the next episode, it returns February 2nd.